Earth Mother Moon Journal, Issue 18
Winter Solstice Edition 2007
Winter Solstice Edition 2007
Bring on the light!! We are now in the very darkest days of the year. Here in Michigan, it is cold, snowy, and quite dreary today... Heavy clouds in the sky. But on the inside, there is so much that brings warmth. The love of family and friends, the fire in the stove behind me, the beauty of the hundreds of twinkling lights indoors and out, and the green holly leaves with red berries sent to me by my dear cousin that are scattered throughout the house. The pitter patter of the children running throughout the house, and the songs they are singing of rudolf and his shiny red nose. There is so much inner warmth that comes out in winter, it does feel to me to be like the song says, "it's the most wonderful time of the year." Yet, with all of the hussle and bussle, I am aware of my body craving the darkness, needing it's own time of rest and quiet. The juxtaposition of needing that warmth and light, and also needing the darkness to create and heal in order to bring light again. I am reminded to take time to renew my body, mind, and spirit each day, and by doing that, I am able to bring joy to those around me:)
Living true to yourself. This has been on my mind a great deal as of late, in my times of rest and reflection. It is much, much easier said than done. I've spent many years understanding the importance of doing what I love, of following my heart, and not living up to others expectations and ideals. But what I'm finding is that it's like pealing an onion- there are a vast amount of layers of understanding both myself, and what I need- not to mention how much others expectations have become a part of my own identity over a life time. And as each year, or cycle passes, there is yet another layer of understanding. I have found an entirely new piece of myself these past several months, and found a new passion that I didn't even know existed. I think it's one of those times where trusting my gut, and allowing myself to walk through a door,closing it, even though I don't know what lies ahead I know I have to do it- where I can now see the importance of going through, and trusting that process. I am now so glad I did, and below you'll see some information about this process of trusting guidance I just 'happened' to come across today:)
And so here we are, just days away from the light beginning to come back, and soon the days will be getting longer again. I wish for you the most wonderful, joyful, peaceful time this holiday season. This seasons journal will share with you a lot of inspiring information to help you get your own light shining:) Happy Holidays!
Blessed Be,
Calesta Ana
Living true to yourself. This has been on my mind a great deal as of late, in my times of rest and reflection. It is much, much easier said than done. I've spent many years understanding the importance of doing what I love, of following my heart, and not living up to others expectations and ideals. But what I'm finding is that it's like pealing an onion- there are a vast amount of layers of understanding both myself, and what I need- not to mention how much others expectations have become a part of my own identity over a life time. And as each year, or cycle passes, there is yet another layer of understanding. I have found an entirely new piece of myself these past several months, and found a new passion that I didn't even know existed. I think it's one of those times where trusting my gut, and allowing myself to walk through a door,closing it, even though I don't know what lies ahead I know I have to do it- where I can now see the importance of going through, and trusting that process. I am now so glad I did, and below you'll see some information about this process of trusting guidance I just 'happened' to come across today:)
And so here we are, just days away from the light beginning to come back, and soon the days will be getting longer again. I wish for you the most wonderful, joyful, peaceful time this holiday season. This seasons journal will share with you a lot of inspiring information to help you get your own light shining:) Happy Holidays!
Blessed Be,
Calesta Ana
Don't worry, be Happy! (and how to do it!)
Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I've taken on a new hobby- Irish Dancing. It is something I have found so much joy and peace from, and it's really made me look further in to the impact body has on mind- and mood! By exercising, we not only help our body to be healthy, but we can find happiness believe it or not! Exercise makes one feel good because of the endorphins created- and dancing is one of the very best ways to do that because of the intense short bursts. Below are several articles to read through to learn about this mind-body connection, and hopefully some inspiration as we move in to the new year.
http://www.joyfulaging.com/JoyfulDancing.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197466,00.html
http://www.thrivingnow.com/for/Health/category/Movement-Exercise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/03/24/exercise_mental_health_feature.shtml
http://www.aworldofaromatherapy.com/article-dance-therapy.htm
Dreaming in the Darkest Days
This is the perfect time of year to begin working with your dreams. The first step is to begin paying attention, and recalling your dreams (and you will need to make sure you are getting enough rest too!). A good way to do this is to use a dream journal. Once you are recalling 2-3 dreams a week, you might want to move on to another step. The following exercise is from the book "The Dream Dictionary " by Jo Jean Boushahla and VIrginia Reidel-Geubtner.
"Dream incubation is consciously generating a dream to help solve a problem, make a decision, heal a relationship, overcome self-defeating attitudes or habits. There are several useful steps you may follow:
Stop Complaining
Below is a very fascinating article I read recently on reasons to stop complaining. We've all done it. We all have times we need to do it. But this article really changed my view on complaining. If looked at as energy, we end up using it up, wasting it- instead of using that energy towards changing a situation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and it inspires you for the new year as well!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/12/03/anti.complain.campaign/index.html
Trusting Your Inner Guidance
The following is quoted from the book "Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss"
"If a person suffers from low self- esteem, she cannot act on her intuitive impulses because her fear of failure is too intense. Intuition, like all meditative disciplines, can be enormously effective if, and only if, one has the courage and personal power to follow through on the guidance it provides. Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While we measure our own success in terms of our personal comfort and security, the universe measures our success by how much we have learned. So long as we use comfort and security as our criteria of success, we will fear our own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs us into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable....
Belief in oneself is required for healing. Before I realized the significance of self- esteem for developing intuitive skills, I would have stated that faith is the most important factor in healing. I now equate faith with self-esteem and personal power, because low self-esteem reflects ones lack of faith in oneself as well as in the powers of the unseen world. Unquestionably, faith is vital for managing the challenges of our everyday existence."
Midwinter- another view
The following is from the book "Celtic Women's Spirituality by Edain McCoy"
"The winter solstice is the oldest of all the sabbats, perhaps as much as 2,000 to 20,000 years old. In the distant past, when winter was much more dangerous than it is now, this holiday marked the rebirth of the sun as it began to wax again, and it was greeted with joy and relief. Many legends abound of Celtic priestesses and Druids who arose early so as to be able to greet the sun as it rose. Most assuredly this reverence carried over into Midwinter, the day on which she again began to grow stronger and more powerful. In most Pagan traditions, Midwinter is seen as the birthday of a male God/son/over from the virgin Goddess.... Yet, with the preponderance of female Cetlic sun deities, there is no reason that Celtic women should not mark this date as the return of the Goddess of sun and fire."
I wish you the best during this Moon Time:)
Feel free to email me using the contact form.
<< Previous Moon Journal Entry
Next Moon Journal Entry >>
Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I've taken on a new hobby- Irish Dancing. It is something I have found so much joy and peace from, and it's really made me look further in to the impact body has on mind- and mood! By exercising, we not only help our body to be healthy, but we can find happiness believe it or not! Exercise makes one feel good because of the endorphins created- and dancing is one of the very best ways to do that because of the intense short bursts. Below are several articles to read through to learn about this mind-body connection, and hopefully some inspiration as we move in to the new year.
http://www.joyfulaging.com/JoyfulDancing.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197466,00.html
http://www.thrivingnow.com/for/Health/category/Movement-Exercise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/03/24/exercise_mental_health_feature.shtml
http://www.aworldofaromatherapy.com/article-dance-therapy.htm
Dreaming in the Darkest Days
This is the perfect time of year to begin working with your dreams. The first step is to begin paying attention, and recalling your dreams (and you will need to make sure you are getting enough rest too!). A good way to do this is to use a dream journal. Once you are recalling 2-3 dreams a week, you might want to move on to another step. The following exercise is from the book "The Dream Dictionary " by Jo Jean Boushahla and VIrginia Reidel-Geubtner.
"Dream incubation is consciously generating a dream to help solve a problem, make a decision, heal a relationship, overcome self-defeating attitudes or habits. There are several useful steps you may follow:
- Spend fifteen to twenty minutes just before bedtime writing in detail about the problem.
- Form a question concerning the problem...Focus your mind on the question while drifting off to sleep.
- Upon awakening, record any dream memories- people (known or unknown), situations, feelings, impressions, fragments."
Stop Complaining
Below is a very fascinating article I read recently on reasons to stop complaining. We've all done it. We all have times we need to do it. But this article really changed my view on complaining. If looked at as energy, we end up using it up, wasting it- instead of using that energy towards changing a situation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and it inspires you for the new year as well!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/12/03/anti.complain.campaign/index.html
Trusting Your Inner Guidance
The following is quoted from the book "Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss"
"If a person suffers from low self- esteem, she cannot act on her intuitive impulses because her fear of failure is too intense. Intuition, like all meditative disciplines, can be enormously effective if, and only if, one has the courage and personal power to follow through on the guidance it provides. Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While we measure our own success in terms of our personal comfort and security, the universe measures our success by how much we have learned. So long as we use comfort and security as our criteria of success, we will fear our own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs us into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable....
Belief in oneself is required for healing. Before I realized the significance of self- esteem for developing intuitive skills, I would have stated that faith is the most important factor in healing. I now equate faith with self-esteem and personal power, because low self-esteem reflects ones lack of faith in oneself as well as in the powers of the unseen world. Unquestionably, faith is vital for managing the challenges of our everyday existence."
Midwinter- another view
The following is from the book "Celtic Women's Spirituality by Edain McCoy"
"The winter solstice is the oldest of all the sabbats, perhaps as much as 2,000 to 20,000 years old. In the distant past, when winter was much more dangerous than it is now, this holiday marked the rebirth of the sun as it began to wax again, and it was greeted with joy and relief. Many legends abound of Celtic priestesses and Druids who arose early so as to be able to greet the sun as it rose. Most assuredly this reverence carried over into Midwinter, the day on which she again began to grow stronger and more powerful. In most Pagan traditions, Midwinter is seen as the birthday of a male God/son/over from the virgin Goddess.... Yet, with the preponderance of female Cetlic sun deities, there is no reason that Celtic women should not mark this date as the return of the Goddess of sun and fire."
I wish you the best during this Moon Time:)
Feel free to email me using the contact form.
<< Previous Moon Journal Entry
Next Moon Journal Entry >>